TCL C75B vs TCL C7L

During our luminance test, the TCL C75B "spat out" about 380 nits of brightness. We recorded similar results while watching most of the films we tested. These can be considered average – the television does not perform badly in this segment, but around 400 nits is definitely too low to fully experience the magic of HDR effects. Of course, such results are better than those of budget models, which can achieve nearly half as low brightness values. However, for HDR enthusiasts seeking stronger light effects and greater realism, the C75B may prove insufficient. On the plus side, it's worth mentioning the 95% coverage of the DCI-P3 color palette. This is a very good result that easily suffices to enjoy a wide range of colors in content available on popular streaming platforms. Vivid and rich colors are definitely a strong point of this model.

TCL C7L is undoubtedly an extremely bright television. In synthetic tests on static images, it can achieve peak brightness levels of around 2800 nits. This is an absolutely phenomenal result, considering the price range it falls into. Unfortunately, the tests with real film scenes are not as spectacular as the measurements of white squares. The brightness in actual HDR shots drops to around 1200 nits in the C7L model. This is still a very good result, as the vast majority of contemporary films are mastered at such a value. However, when small, pinpoint elements appear on the screen, the brightness of those details drastically drops – even to about 400 nits – which diminishes the HDR effect somewhat. The television does this intentionally to maintain a better level of black and prevent a huge glare of light. This is somewhat explainable, but it also shows that Mini LED technology is not completely uncompromising in this regard. As for the HDR effect itself – alongside brightness, colors are obviously key here. And these, thanks to the use of new, "super" quantum dots, are simply outstanding and among the best on the market. The television can achieve around 90% coverage of the ultra-wide color gamut BT.2020 and 99% of the DCI-P3 gamut, easily matching the best RGB MINI-LED screens. Best of all, the C7L can maintain such high color saturation regardless of the scene being displayed, which is often problematic in competing RGB Mini-LED televisions.

TCL C75B offers many picture modes, but in our opinion, the best choice is the "Film" mode. Although its settings are quite good, the television struggles with certain color reproduction issues. In tests, we noticed that the image had a noticeably pinkish tint compared to what could be considered correct. This effect was particularly noticeable in skin tones, which appeared unnaturally warm. The main culprit of this phenomenon turned out to be the white balance, characterized by an excessive amount of blue and red in both HD and 4K HDR materials.

Another issue was the way brightness was reproduced. The gamma, which is responsible for the visibility of details in darker materials, was definitely boosted, causing details in the darkest parts of the screen to be invisible, lost in total blackness (e.g., the bottom part of the screen in the comparative photo - the area around the actress's ear). Similarly, the situation was reflected in the EOTF curve, which was below the correct value, suggesting that a similar problem may be encountered in 4K HDR content.

Thanks to our experience and the appropriate tools, we decided to take matters into our own hands and see how much could be extracted from this model after professional calibration. Details are described in the next section.

When it comes to colors straight out of the box, a new feature in TCL televisions – including the C7L model – is the presence of a new picture mode called Filmmaker Mode. This is significant news, as such a mode was previously unavailable from this manufacturer. By design, as the name itself suggests, the image in this setting is intended to be presented with the full intent of the film's creator. After our tests, we can confirm that it is undoubtedly the best built-in mode on this television if you care about faithful color reproduction straight out of the box. However, we definitely wouldn't say that it is perfect. Like most devices on the market, this C7L also had its factory flaws. The white balance in Filmmaker Mode strayed into a slightly greenish-yellow hue, mainly due to an excess of green component and a noticeable lack of blue color. Of course, for the average viewer, this may not be a drastic flaw, but if you care about perfect whites, natural skin tones, and fully unlocking the potential of these new "super" quantum dots, this television is in need of professional calibration.

After calibrating the TCL C75B, it has clearly improved in terms of color reproduction. Although the TV does not offer many options for adjusting the white balance, we were able to refine its settings significantly. As a result, the image has stopped being overly pink, and the colors now look much more natural and harmonious.

The gamma jump, which was previously a problem, has not disappeared completely, but we managed to significantly reduce it. This has made the details in dark scenes more visible – both in HD and 4K HDR material.

Unfortunately, the lack of local dimming is still noticeable. The "glowing black" effect remains, but that's a limitation of the display itself. Despite this, the colors after calibration look vastly better, and the image is much more enjoyable to watch.

After conducting a professional calibration, we managed to significantly improve the situation in the factory Filmmaker Mode. Following our adjustments, the errors in the ColorChecker test and across the entire wide color gamut dropped below the threshold of human perception – that is, below a value of 3, which is indeed a very good result. The TCL C7L definitely benefits from such an intervention in terms of color fidelity, and it's hard to dispute that. However, the management of brightness in HDR content post-calibration looks a bit worse. As I described earlier – even though we set up this model properly, when we turn on actual film scenes on the TV, it manages its brightness in a rather peculiar way. It often brightens certain elements on the screen contrary to the creator's intent, which is clearly visible in the EOTF graphs measured in specific films. Despite this defect – or rather a specific characteristic of this television – one cannot take away from it that after calibration, the C7L was able to reproduce the colors completely accurately.

The TCL C75B has a tonal transition smoothing feature, but unfortunately, we can't praise it. Regardless of the selected level – low or high – tonal transitions in older materials remained visible, as if the feature didn't work at all. It's hard to say something positive about it because, in practice, it seems completely useless.

The image scaling is better. The TV performs quite decently, although on thinner elements, like branches in the background, you can notice slight halos. However, this is not something that significantly interferes with daily viewing.

Unfortunately, a bigger problem turned out to be overscan, which is the trimming of the image edges. In our tests, it happened that news tickers or other elements close to the edge of the screen were cut off. This is definitely something worth paying attention to, especially if we use the TV for watching news programs or content with text on the screen.

This point can be, in a sense, called the Achilles' heel of the C7L model. Unfortunately, this TV uses an older MediaTek chipset – the Pentonic 700 – which has never been known for exceptional digital image processing. This is clearly evident in the operation of the gradual smoothing feature, which is responsible for reducing jagged edges and removing digital noise. It simply works very poorly – after setting it to low, its effectiveness is practically nonexistent. The only small plus here is that the algorithm doesn't spoil anything additional in the image and doesn’t forcibly blur details. The upscaling, that is, scaling the image from lower resolutions to 4K, performs a bit better. It is simply adequate and doesn’t stand out in any particular way compared to the competition. However, it cannot be denied that the C7L would gain significantly in this aspect if the manufacturer decided to use the newer Pentonic 800 processor, which is now increasingly found in many competitive models.

TCL C75B definitely has something to offer gamers. The TV is equipped with a panel that can display images with a refresh rate of 144 Hz in 4K, and even 240 Hz in Full HD. These are really great results, especially for a model from the budget range.

Additionally, there are features for improving smoothness and reducing motion blur in films. The "Motion" option allows for precise adjustment of the effect on a 10-step scale, providing a lot of customization options – everyone can set the smoothness to their liking.

TCL C7L features a native 4K panel with a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which can even ramp up to 288 Hz at lower resolutions when using a PC. These are, of course, very high values and commendable on paper, but in everyday life, it's worth remembering that nearly all dynamic content you display on this television will still be running around a maximum of 120 Hz. To harness this dynamics, we find a motion smoothing system in the TV's menu called “Motion Clarity.” It offers several predefined modes, including a user mode, which we definitely recommend setting manually using our tried-and-true guides on our YouTube channel. There we have two key sliders at our disposal. The first one, “Blur Reduction,” is responsible for reducing blurring and improving sharpness in dynamic 60fps materials, such as sports broadcasts. The second slider, “Flicker Reduction,” allows for the addition of artificial frames in movies and series recorded at cinematic 24 or 30 frames per second. This, of course, completely eliminates the irritating stutter effect during camera movement shots.

The TCL C75B is undoubtedly a television designed for gamers. It offers almost everything that the most demanding console users need. With the implementation of full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1, the television supports features such as ALLM (automatic low latency mode) and VRR (variable refresh rate) – operating across the full capabilities of the TV, up to 240 Hz in Full HD resolution.

Additionally, the television supports advanced HDR technologies, including Dolby Vision and HGiG, which allows for even better detail representation in HDR-optimized games. The C75B is also equipped with a very convenient interface for gamers in the form of a Game Bar, where you can check all key parameters, such as refresh rate, input lag, or picture settings – all within one click's reach.

In a nutshell: the C75B is an excellent choice for gamers, offering a wide range of features that allow for fully enjoying the capabilities of modern consoles and games.

When it comes to gaming, the TCL C7L is simply an outstanding television for gamers. With the presence of two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports at 48 Gbps, we have access to all the key features that console owners and powerful PC users require. It offers a well-functioning ALLM mode with very low input lag and VRR frame synchronization that operates impressively from 48 up to 288 Hz. Importantly, unlike some competitors, TCL has ensured proper implementation of the console HDR10 HGIG profile and support for Dolby Vision in games. This is complemented by a well-designed gaming panel, the Game Bar, which even allows for customization of its appearance and theme to perfectly match the aesthetics of your console.

The only thing that can – and indeed must – be criticized here is the fact that the television offers only two full HDMI 2.1 ports, while the other two are older HDMI 2.0. This creates quite a significant logistical problem. Why? Because one of those fast ports also supports the eARC audio return channel. In practice, this means that if you connect a soundbar or home theater system to the television, you will only have one free HDMI 2.1 port left. If you have two consoles or a console and a powerful computer at home, unfortunately, you will have to give up something or constantly juggle the cables at the back of the unit while maintaining convenient audio system control.